Portuguese Entrepreneurs Travel to Austin to Turn Science into Real-World Impact

Promoted by the UT Austin Portugal Program, TechLaunch: From Invention to Impact will take a group of Portuguese researchers to the University of Texas at Austin for an immersive week dedicated to transforming scientific knowledge into marketable solutions.

The initiative was designed to help Portuguese research teams explore the commercial potential of their technologies and business ideas, and to discover how to bring their technological solutions to the market. Now, TechLaunch: From Invention to Impact will bring participants to Austin, Texas, for an intensive hands-on entrepreneurship training experience, fostering the transition from research to applied innovation.

Of the 11 teams selected for TechLaunch, 10 will spend a week at the University of Texas completing the in-person phase of the program, with the opportunity to experience and engage closely with one of the world’s most innovative ecosystems. During this stage, participants present the results of their work, share lessons learned, and interact with entrepreneurs, investors, and mentors from the U.S. innovation ecosystem. This is especially significant considering that, according to global platform Dealroom.co, as reported by the Austin Technology Council in 2025, Austin was ranked the most entrepreneurial city in the United States, standing out as one of the world’s leading hubs for innovation and technology.

Marco Bravo, Co-Principal Investigator of the Program at the University of Texas, explains that “over an intensive week, participants dive into one of the world’s most vibrant innovation ecosystems and learn from seasoned mentors and entrepreneurs how to test their ideas in real markets. This is where science finds its voice, and ideas turn into real impact.” Bravo is convinced that “TechLaunch is more than a training program – it’s a catalyst that challenges innovators from various Portuguese organizations to think like global entrepreneurs and to transform scientific knowledge into economic and social impact. This is how Portugal continues to establish itself as a nation of science, technology, and innovation with global ambition.”

Inspired by the renowned NSF I-Corps™ program in the U.S., TechLaunch is an advanced, hands-on technology entrepreneurship bootcamp created under the partnership between the University of Texas at Austin and the Government of Portugal. The program was designed to help researchers explore the economic viability of their ideas and tailor their solutions to market needs. Throughout the selection process, special care was taken to choose the right participants – those with ideas of high potential and genuine market impact.

Regarding the teams involved, Weston Waldo, Certified I-Corps Instructor at Longhorn Ventures, UT Austin, offered high praise: “The researchers who participated in TechLaunch did what every great entrepreneur should do – listen to real customers, refine their technology based on evidence, and determine whether there’s a viable business behind their research.” The results, he assures, “were remarkable,” with “several teams now ready to take the next step toward the market.”

TechLaunch is one of the initiatives under the UT Austin Portugal Program, the entrepreneurship branch of the Portuguese Government’s GoPortugal Partnerships, developed through the UTEN – University Technology Enterprise Network. UTEN has played a key role in transforming Portugal’s entrepreneurship support ecosystem and was instrumental in the emergence of some of the country’s first unicorns, such as Feedzai and Sword Health.

The UT Austin Portugal Program is a partnership between Portugal’s Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the University of Texas at Austin, under the Portuguese Government’s GoPORTUGAL – Global Science and Technology Partnerships Portugal initiative. Coordinated by INESC TEC since 2018, the program aims to advance knowledge in emerging fields of science and technology through support for research, advanced training, technology transfer, and innovation.